The Higher Level Review Process | VA Rating Decisions

Before February 2019, if you didn't agree with the VA's decision, you could submit a Notice of Disagreement within a year of the rating decision and either appeal to the board of veterans appeals or request that a Decision Review Officer (DRO) give it another look. However, Congress passed the "Appeals Modernization Act, or "AMA" in 2019, doing away with the Notice of Disagreement, and instead giving Veterans three appeal "lanes" to choose from:

Supplemental Claim
Higher Level Review
Appeal to the Board of Veterans Appeal

The Higher Level Review, or HLR for short, sends your file to a DRO for review. They can review the decision based on the evidence that was in the record at the time the decision is made. You can request an informal conference with this DRO to discuss the issues, but you cannot present any new evidence; the higher level review is only for mistakes you believe were made during the process itself.

The DRO can do three things:
Give you what you are asking for (a "Grant")
Deny your request
Send the file back for additional review and development, which means they order new exams.

Article -
https://www.apgrosslaw.com/news/2022/...

Important Forms

Higher Level Review Form
VA Form 20-0996 https://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA...

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